Chad Daybell trial: Lori Vallow’s friend confronted with subpoena outside court in cult prophet case
Chad Daybell’s trial comes one year after Lori Vallow was convicted over the murders of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell
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Melanie Gibb, the former friend of Lori Vallow, was served with a subpoena during a break in Chad Daybell’s triple murder trial in Boise, Idaho on Thursday.
Daybell’s defence attorney John Prior told her she had to accept to the papers. Ms Gibb was called by the prosecution to testify in the case a year after she testified at Vallow’s trial about the couple’s extreme religious beliefs.
Daybell, 55, is on trial for the murders of Vallow’s children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and JJ, seven, as well as his then-wife Tammy Daybell, who died suddenly in her sleep in October 2019. Weeks later, Daybell married Vallow.
Nine months after the children were last seen, they were found on Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.
Prosecutors say his “desire for sex, power, and money” led to their murders. Mr Prior, however, said his client was manipulated by Vallow.
Last year, Vallow was convicted in the three murders and sentenced to life in prison. Jurors heard how she, Mr Daybell and her late brother Alex Cox were fuelled, in part, by their bizarre cult beliefs.
If convicted, Mr Daybell faces either the death penalty or life in prison.
Doomsday cult, murders and children buried in a pet cemetery: The twisted case of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell
Is Chad Daybell a doomsday cult mastermind? Trial for the murder of Lori Vallow’s children and ex-wife begins
Did a doomsday cult really drive Lori Vallow to murder her children?
Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow and Alex Cox: Key players in the ‘doomsday cult’ murder case
Who was Tylee Ryan?
Tylee Ryan, 16, was the daughter of Lori Vallow and her third husband, Joseph Ryan.
She was described by family members as “loving, and constantly laughing,” according to KPVI.
Tylee also loved spending time with her friends and watching “The Office,” but “more than anything” she loved hanging out with little brother JJ and older brother Colby Ryan, the outlet reported.
“She’s so witty … even for adults, like, she would have me laughing,” Echo Itaaehau, a family friend, told KTVK. “She could be sassy, but just super sweet and tender-hearted.”
Tylee spent most of her life in Arizona, but a week before going missing, she had moved from Arizona with her family to Rexburg, Idaho.
She was last seen on 8 September 2019, on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with JJ, her mother and Cox. A photo of the children and Cox is now widely circulated.
Spectators say Daybell was ‘shaking’ as graphic photos were shown
During a court break, several spectators told local reporters that they noticed Chad Daybell shaking while graphic photos were being shown in court.
The jurors are being shown graphic evidence from when JJ and Tylee’s remains were found buried in Daybell’s backyard.
One woman told East Idaho News’ Nate Eaton that it looked like he had never seen the images before.
Court will resume shortly.
Defence to continue cross on detective when court resumes
Court is on a lunch break, but will resume around 3.10pmET.
Just before court was dismissed for lunch, Chad Daybell’s defence attorney John Prior was cross examining Rexburg police detective Rey Hermosillo.
Mr Prior attempted to discredit the investigation while placing the blame on others, including Lori Vallow and Alex Cox.
Defence focuses on Alex Cox during cross of detective
Prior asks Detective Hermosillo about the days following Tammy Daybell’s death.
“Three days after Tammy Daybell dies, Alex Cox is still sharpening knives,” he says, and Hermosillo says this is correct.
Cox is Lori Vallow’s late brother. He died of natural causes.
Prior then makes a point of saying the knives and guns were found at the home of Alex Cox, not with Vallow or Daybell.
Court dismissed until Monday
Detective Hermosillo is dismissed for now and court has ended for the day.
The next witness is not yet available, so there will be no court on Friday.
Court will resume on Monday with day three of testimony in Chad Daybell’s trial.
Will Lori Vallow testify? Here’s what her uncle says
Who will defend Chad Daybell? His children are expected to testify
He’s accused of killing their mother but Chad Daybell’s adult children will take the stand in their father’s defence at his triple murder trial.
Daybell told police his wife Tammy Daybell had died suddenly in her sleep after battling an illness, but an autopsy later revealed she died of asphyxiation and he was charged with her murder.
Defence attorney John Prior said during opening statements on Wednesday morning in Boise, Idaho the children will testify about their mother’s ongoing health issues, the home remedies she would try, and her refusal to see a doctor.
Read more:
Chad Daybell’s children will take the stand in their father’s defence
Chad Daybell faces the death penalty if convicted in the disturbing murders the prosecution say were fuelled by his desire for ‘sex, money and power’
RECAP: Graphic evidence about children’s remains first heard at Lori Vallow’s murder trial
“Cult mom” Lori Vallow was convicted of murdering her two youngest children in a case that shocked the nation with its bizarre doomsday cult ties and the tragic deaths of almost everyone close to the mother-of-three and her new husband Chad Daybell.
Shocked jurors were shown images of JJ’s body found in the shallow grave – still dressed in the red pyjamas.
Now Daybell is on trial and a different jury is hearing all the jarring evidence against the couple.
Read more:
Lori Vallow case summary: Key revelations from ‘cult mom’s’ murder trial
Lori Vallow was at the centre of a bizarre case involving cults and multiple deaths. Rachel Sharp explains the most crucial moments so far in her high-profile trial, which ended with Vallow’s conviction for the murder of her two youngest children
ICYMI: Lawyers make opening remarks in Chad Daybell trial
What are the charges against Chad Daybell?
- Murder of Tammy Daybell
- Murder of Joshua “JJ” Vallow
- Murder of Tylee Ryan
- Conspiracy to commit murder of Tammy Daybell
- Conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in the death of Joshua “JJ” Vallow
- Conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in the death of Tylee Ryan